MP3 stands for MPEG Audio Layer III and it is a standard for audio compression that makes any music file smaller with little or no loss of sound quality. MP3 is part of MPEG, an acronym for Motion Pictures Expert Group, a family of standards for displaying video and audio using lossy compression (mp3-mac.com, 2005). MP3 was developed by a team of engineers at the Fraunhafer Insitut in Erlangen, Germany in the mid-1980s. In popular usage MP3 also refers to files of sound or music recordings stored in the MP3 format on computers (Wikipedia.com, 2005)
MP3 is a form of compression, based on a psycho-acoustic model “which recognises that the human ear canot hear all the audio frequencies on a recording. The human hearing range is between 20Hz to 20Khz and it is most sensitive between 2 to 4 KHz,�? (Brain, 2005). MP3 works very effectively to compress CD-quality music into a file about one tenth to one twleve of the size, while retaining close to the original quality. It acheives this by getting rid of redundant sounds: the extreme high and low frequencies undectable to human ears. As such, this process is also known as ‘destructive compression’ and deleted data cannot be retrieved. (Nicolson, 1999). When encoding a file into MP3 format, different levels of compression can be set to determine its quality. For instance, “an MP3 created with 128 Kbit compression will be of a greater quality and larget file size than that of a 56 Kbit compression, thus the more the compression level decreases, the lesser the sound quality�? ( Nicolson, 1999).
MP3 technology combined with the Web’s ability to distribute music has enabled users to download, upload, and store much more music than before. It is now possible for individuals to create a virtual library of all their favourite songs by simply downloading them from the Internet. They can also convert songs from their own CDs into MP3 files by using ripper, and encoding softwares (Brain, 2005). Users can enjoy these files in a variety of ways. They can listen to them on portable Mp3 players, or directly from their hard drives using software programs such as WinAmp. They can also distribute music files via email to their friends, or upload their files onto the Internet and make it available to anyone (Buskirk, 2005). And because the music is in digital form, each sucessive copy made to the MP3 file is of the same quality as its predecessor. Such duplication is also known as serial copying. MP3 is not an illegal file format, but the unauthorised compression and distribution of copyright material is illegal. It is the content of a file which may breach copyright, not its file type. (Nicolson, 1999) As MP3 continues to popularise, the sale of portable MP3 players is following suit. They are labelled as the next generation of walkmans. As Webopedia (2005) explains, they do not contain any moving parts, which make them great for almost any activity. A portable player is practically a small computer that contains a decoder used to play the songs, and the songs themselves, usually stored either on a removable memory card (which can be purchased separately) or situated somewhere internally. Some of the popular portable MP3 players available on the market include iPod and iRiver. The global demand for these devices are expected to rise, “as more and more consumer get acquainted with their digital audio functionality.�? (Redherring, 2005) It is because of these advances that certain elements of the music industry has shown opposition towards the MP3 technology and view it as a huge piracy threat ( Jones, 2000). The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for example, has filed several lawsuits against companies that provide MP3 related products and services, alleging liability either for their own or for their customer’s copyright infringement. These companies include mp3.com, Napster, Kazaa, and most recently Groskster. The RIAA has further moved on to sue individuals who have been found trading massive amount of MP3 copyrighted songs over peer-to-peer networks ( Schuler, 2003).
In the midst of the opposition, othe parts of the music industry have received MP3 with much enthusiasm. Thousands of independent bands, in hopes of popularising their music, have taken the opportunity to distribute their songs online (Buskirk, 2005). Even mainstream bands such as Wilco, has turned to releasing their album online, to gain publicity (Jardin, 2004).
It is believed that MP3 technology will continue to develop, evolve, and change the digital world. It has become entrenched in today’s society, and will not going away soon. At the same time, there are already several advancing MP3 technologies out in the market. One of them is ACC, which is a new variation of the MPEG format (apple.com, 2005). It is the most advanced audio format, but it is not commonly used. Another emerging format is MP4, which is the next evolution in the MPEG format, and it is slightly more advanced than MP3 (apple.com,2005). Currently, MP4 is not as widespread as the MP3 format. As each new format develops the quality and compression will increase, while the size of the file will continue to decrease. This in turn will mean that even less storage space will be needed, and that it will take less time to transfer these files over the Internet.
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Victoria Cole 23:42, 28 Oct 2004 (EST)
Victoria Cole 22:26, 28 Oct 2004 (EST)
Ruth kan 02:50, 28 Oct 2005 (EST)
